Satellite
by crammit
Summary: Sequel to "To The Moon and Back": When a satellite starts sending out unusual readings, it's up to Brittany and Santana to investigate. Little do they know that what's waiting for them could make this mission their last. - Rated M for language and sex


**Title** : Satellite  
 **Author** : crammit  
 **Fandom** : Glee  
 **Rating** : M  
 **Pairing** : Brittany/Santana  
 **Timeline** : Space – AU  
 **Summary** : Sequel to "To The Moon and Back": When a satellite starts sending out unusual readings, it's up to Brittany and Santana to investigate. Little do they know that what's waiting for them could make this mission their last. - Rated M for language and sex

 **A/N** : Glee and its characters do not belong to me. I am only borrowing them. I promise to put them back right where I found them once I'm done

 **A/N** : I've been sitting on this story for a few months but with everything going on, I figured it couldn't hurt to put out a distraction if someone wanted it. I know I could use it. :-) Special thanks to **Cheeky** for looking over the story for me!

 **A/N** : As always, thanks very much for reading. Reviews are always appreciated!

* * *

"Is that the last of it?"

Stepping through the angled doorway of the main deck, Brittany slowly lowers a supply crate onto a large table dominating the back of the cockpit, ignoring Santana's question for the moment as she shuffles closer to the master controls. The view outside the long cockpit window of unending darkness sprinkled with winking stars barely registers as she lets out a low whistle of appreciation for the control panels in front of her. Tuning out Santana's amused chuckle, Brittany reaches forward to run her fingers over the knobs and levers, part of her willing the engine to come to life just on her touch alone.

"Easy there, Slim. Alice might not take too kindly to you strokin' her buttons without a little getting-to-know-you first."

Brittany yanks her hand back, blushing slightly as she turns to face the captain, his duffel bag hitting the floor by his feet as he shakes Santana's hand before coming to shake Brittany's hand as well. "Captain Doucette, at your service. And don't worry, I was just playing with you. My Alice here is a sweetheart."

"You named your command center artificial intelligence 'Alice'?"

"Sure. From that old movie 'Resident Evil'? _That_ Alice was a total badass and mine here is the same, minus the great legs, of course."

"Of course." Santana's eye roll is for Brittany's eyes only, her hands tugging on the straps of the backpack resting on her shoulders, her restless movements prompting Brittany to pull the captain's attention back to her.

"Still, I apologize for touching the controls. I've never actually _been_ on a Raptor-230 before, at least one that's not out of a sim. It's just…she's…"

"Beautiful, right?" Grinning, the captain leans over the co-pilot's chair and punches in a couple of commands, the sounds of the ship coming online bringing a matching grin to Brittany's face. Pushing a button, the captain brings the diagnostics to holo in front of him, his smile softening as a woman's voice fills the room.

" _Welcome back, Cornelius. It is a pleasure to fly with you again_."

Santana mouths the name like a question to Brittany who shrugs her shoulders before looking over at the captain, who closes his eyes briefly as he holds his palm out towards them. "Before you ask, I go by Stitch. And before you ask that second question I can see rolling around in both your heads, my family was real big into movies, especially old movies. The older, the better. My mom got on a kick over what they called 'Sci-Fi' movies back in the day and decided to name me after a character in a movie called 'Planet of the Apes'. As I was a baby and had no say in the matter, Cornelius it was."

Before Brittany can ask another question, Alice's voice cuts through the communications system, the diagnostic screen blinking green and then disappearing before space and the stars fill the cockpit window once more. " _All systems are ready at 100%, Captain. Shields, weapons, navigation, and the hyper-core are awaiting your commands_."

"Copy that, Alice. Inform Command at Delta that we will be ready to depart in T-minus thirty and request permission to begin undocking protocol."

" _Yes, Captain_."

Sitting in the captain's chair, Stitch toggles two of the levers, the engines purring beneath their feet before settling into a quiet hum. Looking over his shoulder, he meets Santana's gaze and Brittany's in turn. As his fingers begin to type on the command keyboard, he gives them a small smile and jerks his chin at the items at their feet. "Let's get everything stowed and settled, and meet below deck in 20 minutes to go over our mission specs again. Alice and I have some catching up to do and then I'll get us on our way."

Nodding, Brittany picks up the crate she walked in with, stopping just outside the doorway to grab her own duffel bag before heading to the crew's quarters. Taking in his appearance, Santana pauses before following Brittany, giving the captain a once over. "You know, you don't look like a Cornelius."

Stitch turns in his captain's chair, the sharp lines of the geometric-shaped tattoos covering his arms visible as he rolls up his sleeves. Running a hand over the platinum blonde mohawk adorning the top of his head, Stitch crosses his ankle over his knee and rests his hands in his lap as he smiles understandingly at Santana. "No? Would my name make more sense if I had glasses, a pipe, and spoke with a British accent? Would you like it better?"

"Not necessarily."

" _I would_."

Santana startles as Alice's calm voice cuts into their conversation, sharing an amused look with the captain as she realizes that the ship's AI just made a joke.

"She's funny."

Joining with Santana's own chuckle as she leaves, Stitch turns back to the controls with a smile, focusing on his pre-flight checklist as he mumbles under his breath. "You don't know the half of it."

* * *

"Brittany, wait up."

Hustling over the walkway leading to the elevator, Santana reaches for Brittany's hand, stopping before she could call the car to their level. Putting both of their bags on top of the crate at Brittany's feet, Santana takes a moment to slip her fingers between Brittany's before rising up on her toes to place a soft kiss to Brittany's bottom lip, humming into the kiss as Brittany's free hand rests against Santana's hip.

"Not that I'm complaining, Santana, but what was that for?"

Indulging in one more kiss, Santana rests back on her heels, one shoulder going up as she runs her thumb across Brittany's knuckles. "It's just been a hectic couple of days since we were assigned to this mission, and before that, we barely had time to see each other once you got back from your environmental survival certification training. It's been a long three weeks. Like, a _long_ three weeks."

Brittany understands the words hidden in Santana's tone and smirks before leaning down to kiss Santana again, this time tilting her head and coaxing Santana's lips to part, the taste of Santana on her tongue causing her to moan softly. Dragging her teeth slowly over Santana's bottom lip, Brittany ends the short kiss on a sigh, pursing her lips to kiss the tip of Santana's nose before stepping back. "The _longest_ three weeks. But we'll have time together on this ship, not counting any repair time to the satellite pod we're going to investigate, aaaaand…"

The playful tone on the last word makes the dimples of Santana's smile appear and she goes along with Brittany, repeating the same word in her own playful tone.

Leaning down to brush her lips against Santana's ear, Brittany reaches back to push the elevator call button, her breath warm as she answers Santana. "Protocol dictates that we have our own section of the sleep pods with the captain on the other side which means we'll be alone together. Every. Night."

Pulling back abruptly as the elevator doors whoosh open in front of them, Brittany hides her smile behind her hand as Santana's body sways forward, her eyes still half-closed in muted pleasure over Brittany's words.

Heaving out a heavy breath, Santana picks up their bags as Brittany pulls the crate onto the elevator. Stepping into the elevator with Brittany, Santana speaks their requested deck number, glancing slyly at Brittany out of the corner of her eye. "Gotta love protocol."

* * *

Stitch uses two fingers to expand the holographic image hovering above the table, pausing as Santana enters something into the tablet in front of her before he continues speaking. "Here she is, Satellite Pod – IK394-3T - precious stones and minerals hunter, capable of supporting a crew of two for three years before supply and personnel rotation, payload up to 4 tons, twin Titan engines with fusion cores, carries 564 solar panels, three docking stations…one for their Rover explorer that collects samples, one for their main workhorse that collects their payloads, and one for visiting ships, H-grade weapons systems, medium shields, and a 113-Houst Command AI."

"And a partridge in a pear tree." Santana sings the words as she finally looks up from her tablet, handing it over at Brittany's request as she makes her own notes.

Nodding his head, Stitch taps the bottom of the holo screen and the image of the satellite pod is replaced with slowly scrolling data. "And a partridge in a pear tree. Or, in this case, a bunch of readings that we can't confirm or even really decipher. It's like the Houst took a dump in its mainframe and the readings are sifting through a ton of crap. One minute the readings were normal – ruthenium, iridium, phengstun, molyandite. What you'd normally expect to find in the quadrant the satellite was scanning."

Picking up the narrative, Brittany swipes her fingers along the scrolling words, pausing and enhancing a section of words. "But then other metals and minerals began to appear as having been found, things that couldn't exist there, even in the most remote celestial object the satellite could reach."

Santana touches the holo image as well, dragging her fingertip across two of the lines as she looks between Brittany and Stitch. "And these symbols here. Even our most experienced linguistic experts couldn't decipher their meaning other than to classify it as 'unknown' before dismissing it as AI gibberish. Which led Command to believe that the satellite systems are malfunctioning, prompting them to send us out to assess the situation and perform any necessary repairs. Did we miss anything?"

As the captain shakes his head, Santana glances over the symbols once more. "Have you asked Alice to review the readings yet?"

" _I have_."

"I have."

" _Jinx_."

Brittany laughs as Alice says that last word, both Stitch and Alice answering Santana's question at the same time. Prompting Alice to continue, Stitch slouches comfortably in his chair, his eyes on the holo screen as Alice manipulates the image to show more instances of the unknown words.

" _Review of my database showed no known examples of these words being recorded in any previous instances. The new minerals shown as having been discovered are likewise not found in my database, nor are their properties identified in any known records_."

"Do you think those minerals were really out there?"

" _I cannot guess as to their validity, only that their existence is not currently known_."

Handing the tablet back to Santana, Brittany meets her eyes, her eyebrows rising as she points to the holo screen. "Is it possible that the satellite discovered something new? I mean, that's what it's there for. At least, part of its reason for being there is to not only scan for usable materials but to possibly discover new things, right?"

Santana nods her head, linking her fingers on top of the table as Stitch ends the holo transmission. "That's what they are sending us there to find out. The crew left the satellite…"

"Abandoned."

Looking over at Stitch's interruption, Santana shakes her head and continues speaking. "That's debatable. All we know is that they left the satellite pod without waiting for the replacement crew, which wasn't due for two more months, and were last recorded heading back to Earth. That was two weeks ago and their ship still hasn't resumed contact. So while there is another team being sent to track them down, we're out here to assess and repair the satellite and her systems to make it ready for the new crew to arrive next month. I'll handle the AI and command systems, Brittany will handle any hardware and equipment repairs, and you'll handle making sure we get there, dock successfully with the satellite pod, and get us all back to Lunar Base Delta in one piece."

Standing up, Stitch stretches his arms over his head, interlocking his fingers and resting them behind his head. "Sounds good. I should have us there, with at least one quantum jump, in just under a week. Nice and easy."

Thinking back to the day last year when she and Santana received their first docking assignment and how that was supposed to go _nice and easy_ , Brittany feels a shiver of apprehension sneak along her spine. The way Santana meets her eyes lets Brittany know that she's feeling the same way over Stitch's choice of words and she smiles as Santana briefly covers Brittany's hand, squeezing reassuringly before grabbing her tablet and standing up as well. "Let's just say that we hope things go as planned. Nice and easy hasn't always panned out for us before."

Jerking his chin in Brittany's direction, Stitch smiles wide, dropping his hands to his side as he moves to push his chair in. "Oh, I heard all about this one before I even signed up to escort you two. Total badass, if I do say so myself."

Brittany feels the heat burn across her cheeks as she blushes, standing up and giving a good-natured eyeroll as she pushes her chair in as well. "If by _badass_ you mean almost got myself killed and practically gave Santana a heart attack, then yes, I was a total badass."

"Saved the docking station and the radar, didn't you?"

"Yes, but…"

Walking backward out of the dining area, Stitch stops right before he leaves and points at Brittany as his voice takes on a sing song quality. " _Badass_ …"

Santana watches the space he vacated for a moment before turning and looking at Brittany. "He's weird."

Playfully poking her finger into Santana's ribs, Brittany laughs as Santana squirms away from her, pushing in Santana's chair for her as they both make their way down to the cargo bay to confirm inventory. "I like him. And I know you do, too. He's one of the best short jump pilots in the fleet. I checked him out once he was assigned to us. Lillian in the armory vouched for him and she's suspicious of every pilot."

Pulling her tablet up as it beeps with an alert, Santana looks over at Brittany as they approach the elevator. "Being in charge of the armory, she has to be. I mean, how often do the pilots try to sweet talk her out of an extra pulse cannon or two? Like a supply run to Mars is fraught with so much danger. Please. Besides, if she vouched for Stitch, it's because of his tattoos. She's always been a sucker for tattoos."

Entering the elevator, Santana finally looks at her alert, her finger scrolling down the screen for a few moments before letting the tablet slap down against her thigh. With an annoyed sigh, she lets Brittany step out into the cargo bay first, the motion lights clicking on as they walk further into the large room. "I know this ship isn't that big but Captain Cornelius up there just sent us a daily list of things to do and it's freaking longer than my checklist for hyper-propulsion engagement in zero gravity conditions."

When her complaint is met with silence, Santana glances over to find Brittany laughing into her hands, her tablet taken from her and placed on a nearby crate as she's pulled into Brittany's arms. "You are the cutest thing when you're grumpy, you know that?"

"I'm _not_ grumpy."

Brittany reaches up and drags her thumb over Santana's pout, her blue eyes sparkling as Santana just blows out a breath. Backing Santana up until her hips rest against the crate behind her, Brittany smooths her hands over Santana's uniform shirt, the black expanse of the fitted material broken only by Santana's last name and unit insignia stitched down each long sleeve. Resting one hand on Santana's shoulder, Brittany plays with the ends of Santana's high ponytail, the dark strands slipping easily through Brittany's fingers. Waiting for Santana's hands to settle across her lower back, Brittany places a soft kiss against Santana's cheek, pulling back slightly to look at her. "We knew when we accepted this assignment that we'd only be a three-person crew for the duration of the mission. That means that our workload in transit would be a little heavier than usual."

"I know, but…"

"And," Brittany takes a moment to place a soft sucking kiss at the base of Santana's throat before meeting her eyes once more, "we also knew that it meant that we would have quarters to ourselves so that we could spend some time alone. That was a big reason we both said yes when they asked us to do this."

Unwilling to give up what she feels is her righteous irritation over the number of things that need to be done every day on the ship, Santana squares her shoulders, her gaze skittering away from Brittany's knowing look. "I wanted the experience too, you know. A successful mission like this will look good on my record, and, with promotions coming up, this seemed like a good opportunity. For both of us."

Knowing Santana as well as she does, Brittany lets her finish before shifting slightly, her thigh slipping between Santana's legs as she presses Santana a little closer against the crate. "It is, definitely. But tell me that the thought of being on a mission together, on a ship, sharing a bunk without anyone else near us, didn't excite you just a little bit? That you didn't picture the way it would look to have me spread out on the bed in front of you, you on your knees with your…"

Santana pushes forward, her kiss cutting off Brittany's words as she chases her tongue, Santana's hands fisting into Brittany's red uniform shirt, her hips rocking forward with each stroke of Brittany's tongue against her own. Heat rushes through Santana's chest as Brittany moans a little, her fingernails scraping lightly across the nape of Santana's neck as her hips grind down against the pressure of Santana's thigh between her legs. Inhaling deeply through her nose, Santana welcomes the feel of Brittany's breasts against her chest, her bra chafing against her nipples, the sensitive skin hardening as Brittany changes the angle of the kiss. Before Santana can pull Brittany's shirt free from her pants to give her access to soft skin, the tablet next to them beeps loudly, startling them into breaking the kiss. Breathing heavily, Santana rests her forehead against Brittany's, her palms flat against Brittany's back as they each try to slow their breathing. They both groan softly as they step away from each other, grinning self-consciously as they tug their clothes back into place. Swiping her thumb under Brittany's bottom lip, Santana clears away some of the wetness of their kiss, her heart doing a slow somersault over the way Brittany looks with her cheeks flushed and her pupils blown wide with arousal. Sucking in a deep breath, Santana lets it out slowly as she brushes her fingertips across Brittany's warm cheek. "You're so damn pretty."

Capturing Santana's hand, Brittany kisses her fingertips, a smile curving her cheeks as she holds Santana's hand between them. "See? Not grumpy anymore."

Despite the thrum of desire heating her skin, Brittany manages to compose herself, letting go of Santana's hand and reaching carefully around her body to pick up the tablet. Brittany pulls up the list of inventory they need to check, clearing the huskiness from her voice as she gestures to the cargo bay. "I say we get started on the list for today. The sooner we start, the sooner we can finish. And the sooner we finish, the sooner we can _finish_."

Santana laughs at the eyebrow wiggle Brittany throws in at the end of her sentence, pushing away from the crate and taking another deep breath. "Now who's being cute? But, you're right. Let's split the list though. It'll go faster that way."

* * *

Even with the incentive they found in the cargo bay during that first day, their first two nights find Brittany and Santana too tired to do anything more than strip down into their sleepwear before falling into their bunk, a sleepy kiss pressed to a warm shoulder all that either could muster before exhaustion drags them under with greedy fingers. Despite not being a large ship, the prep work needed for their mission along with the daily routine of maintaining a ship with only a crew of three means that their romantic plans hit a road block. By the third day though, Santana decides that she would make them make time for themselves, even her tired body helpless to respond to the constant temptation of having Brittany so close to her all the time.

Heading to the cockpit, Santana catches the captain just as he's leaving to head down to the mess hall, matching his pace as they make their way to the elevator. "Brittany and I are taking the night off tonight. The chore list is on hold until tomorrow morning."

Waiting for Santana to enter the elevator ahead of him, Stitch tucks his hands into his pockets, side-eyeing Santana as he speaks to the elevator. "Deck 2. And why would I agree to that? There are only three of us to maintain the ship and, unfortunately, that means there are things that always need to be completed."

"I understand that," exiting the elevator as it reaches their destination, Santana hustles to stand in front of the captain, preventing him from continuing down the walkway, "but the ship will not fall into disrepair for one night. The stuff for tonight can wait until morning."

"Listen, Santana, I can definitely appreciate that you and Brittany would like…"

Stepping closer to Stitch, Santana pokes a finger against his chest, speaking quietly as she hears the elevator arrive on the other side of the walkway. "And I can _appreciate_ the personal time that you take in your bunk when you have Alice run the diagnostics that _you_ should be running manually. Or perhaps you would like me to include those logs in my report when we get back. Your attempts to conquer the latest level of _Universal Centurion_ should go over really well with Command."

Stitch clears his throat uncomfortably, muttering under his breath as he steps around Santana. "Fine. Geez."

Greeting Brittany as she walks closer to them, Stitch fixes his face into a smile, hoping that she can't see the blush he can feel on his cheeks. "Brittany, enjoy your night off."

Reaching Santana's side, Brittany's look is amused as she watches the captain duck into the mess hall. "What was that all about?"

Leaning up to kiss the underside of Brittany's jaw, Santana's dimples appear as she shrugs her shoulders. "Nothing. Stitch just appreciates all our hard work and thought we could use a night off."

Brittany smirks knowingly, her heartbeat picking up as Santana's mouth lingers against her skin. "And I suppose he came up with that idea all on his own?"

"Totally. Such a great guy, our captain." With one last kiss to Brittany's cheek, Santana makes her way to the entrance of the mess hall, pausing to wink at a smiling Brittany before joining the captain at the dinner table.

* * *

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Brittany."

"Why do you go by Stitch?"

Putting down his fork, Stitch uses his hands to gesture into the air above his head, letting his voice get wistful as he answers. "Because I like to picture my flights like I'm stitching intricate patterns into the universe."

Santana takes a sip of wine before leaning back in her chair, waiting until the captain puts his hands down before she casually cuts into her piece of rehydrated steak. "That's funny. Because _I_ heard you got that name because you got into a bar fight on Helios-12 and, since you'd managed to piss off anyone within a 100 click radius, you had to stitch your own knife wound together."

There's a pause before Stitch starts laughing, grabbing the bottle of wine and refilling Santana and Brittany's glasses. Tapping the top of the wine bottle to Santana's glass, he toasts her with half-smile, his eyes crinkling at the edges with amusement. "Well, that too."

Pushing her empty plate to the side, Brittany washes down her last bite with some wine, crossing her legs under the table as she looks at the status screen to their left. "When do you think we'll arrive at our destination?"

"If conditions remain the same, we should reach the satellite in three days. Two, if Alice and I can duck the solar flare headed our way instead of needing to let it pass."

Gathering the empty plates on the table, Santana rises and carries them to the cleaning station in the kitchen area before coming to stand behind Brittany's chair. "Any word on the tracking team sent to find the satellite's crew members?"

"Not that I've heard. Alice?"

" _Team Gamma is still reporting zero contact with the missing crew, Captain_."

"I hope they're able to track them down soon. I can't imagine what it would be like to be lost out there." Brittany finishes her wine, standing up as Santana pulls out her chair for her. "Should I get the dishes?"

"No."

"Yes."

With a pointed look in Stitch's direction, Santana repeats herself as she leads Brittany out of the mess hall. " _No_. The captain here was generous enough to offer earlier in the day to be on clean up duty. Isn't that right, Captain?"

Chuckling, Stitch nods his head, folding his arms over his chest as he answers Santana. "I did. Apparently, in addition to preparing dinner tonight, I thought cleaning up just seemed like a natural follow up step. That's just the kind of guy that I am."

"See? Come on, Brittany."

Pausing in the entranceway, Brittany pops her head back into the room, aiming a genuine smile at Stitch as she mouths the words to him. "Thank you."

Waving her off with a smile, Stitch listens as Brittany and Santana's voices fade away and eventually get swallowed up by the elevator doors closing. Propping his feet up on the table, the captain angles his head to the large screen across the room, settling a little deeper into his seat. "Alice, play the movie 'The Fifth Element'."

" _Again?_ "

"Again."

* * *

As soon as the door to their bunk whooshes shut behind them, Brittany wastes no time in pushing Santana towards their bed, her time apart from Santana during her weeks of training washing away at the grin Santana aims in her direction. Pulling Santana's shirt over her head, Brittany tightens her hold on the fabric, keeping Santana's arms trapped above them. The shirt covers Santana's eyes, leaving the bottom half of her face exposed and Brittany takes a second to enjoy Santana's accelerated breathing, the pulse of desire between her legs causing her own breathing to pick up. Stepping closer, Brittany sucks on Santana's bottom lip, tugging lightly with her teeth as she pulls back, holding steady as Santana tries to move forward.

Smiling to herself at Santana's frustrated whine, Brittany continues to hold Santana's shirt in one hand, knowing full well that Santana could easily break her grip if she wanted to. Brittany brings her other hand down, running the backs of her fingers over the swell of Santana's breasts, turning her hand to drag her blunt fingernails over the flexing muscles of Santana's stomach. Dipping her fingertips into the waistband of Santana's pants, Brittany pulls her forward, her other hand finally pulling the rest of the shirt over Santana's head to fall unwanted to the floor. Bracing herself, she isn't disappointed as Santana surges forward, her hands fisting in Brittany's hair as she pulls her into a kiss, her mouth warm and soft as it slants over Brittany's.

The feel of Santana in her arms like this again after so many weeks fills Brittany's body with a sense of urgency and she slides her hands over Santana's hips, one hand palming Santana's ass as her other hand reaches up to hold onto Santana's wrist. Continuing to move forward, Brittany guides Santana to the edge of their bed, desperately wanting to remove her shirt and feel Santana's skin against hers but unable to break the hold as Santana ravishes her mouth. Lust pools warm and wet between her legs and Brittany can only give into the desire she feels coming off of Santana in waves, gasping as Santana moves her mouth to bite lightly against the underside of Brittany's jaw. Tipping her head back to give Santana more access, Brittany's eyes watch the safety lights running along the edge of the ceiling flash green three times, indicating that the auto-pilot protocol has engaged for the night. Bringing her hands to Santana's shoulders, Brittany reluctantly pulls back, her words caught in her throat as she takes in Santana's swollen mouth, the desire to kiss Santana only slightly pushed aside as she voices her concern.

"Do you think Stitch knows what we're doing in here?"

Licking her lips, Santana grabs the bottom of Brittany's shirt, her eyes dark with arousal. "Don't care."

"But…"

"Brittany," Santana's voice is strained as she lets go of Brittany's shirt, instead reaching back to unhook her own bra, dropping it on the floor at their feet, the corner of her mouth lifting as Brittany immediately stops talking. Grabbing Brittany's hands, Santana brings them to her breasts, her nipples hardening instantly at the feel of Brittany's lightly calloused palms. "I don't want to think about anything else outside of this room tonight. Not Stitch, not the ship, not our mission, not the base, not back home…I only care about you right now. And us. And this."

Stepping closer, Santana moans as Brittany's hands flex against her, capturing Brittany's mouth in a bruising kiss as she finally tugs the shirt from Brittany's pants. The kiss ends for just the amount of time it takes for both of them to strip the rest of their clothes from their bodies, their mouths crashing together once more as Brittany pushes Santana onto their bed. Kneeling between Santana's legs, Brittany again cups Santana's breasts, her tongue and mouth teasing Santana's nipples for long moments, loving the way Santana's hips arch against her. Part of her wants to keep teasing Santana, wanting to draw this out since they finally have all night but she can smell Santana and the sound Santana makes as Brittany's thigh brushes between her legs makes the decision easy for Brittany.

Shifting forward, Brittany kisses Santana lightly before looking down at her, her heart pumping hard at how beautiful Santana looks beneath her, her need for Santana bringing a flash of warmth across her body. Rocking back on her knees, Brittany keeps eye contact with Santana as she runs her hands across Santana's body until she reaches her thighs, pushing them slowly apart until she can rest between them. "I've missed the way you taste, Santana. You were all I could think about at night during my training. After we were settled into our survival pods, I would fall asleep remembering the feel of your hands in my hair and the way you taste right before you come."

Her name from Santana's lips is more of a groan than anything else and Brittany waits for Santana's hands to find their way into her hair, taking a second to appreciate the soft feel of Santana's thighs against her shoulders before running her mouth across Santana's wetness. Without waiting for the _please_ that she can tell is perched on Santana's lips, Brittany opens her mouth and uses her tongue in all the ways that ran through her mind while she was away from Santana.

In some part of her brain, Santana knows that the vibrations she feels between her legs are being caused by Brittany moaning, Brittany's fingers no doubt leaving marks along Santana's hips where she's being held immobile. But her pleasure is so intense that it seems like it's a closed circuit between them, every moan pulled from Santana's chest echoing through Brittany's mouth between her legs. Letting her eyelids flutter closed, Santana gives herself over to Brittany, simply holding on to the back of her head as Brittany's mouth continues to reduce Santana to her most basic self. Sharp jolts of pleasure race out from between her legs, her toes curling and fingers tightening in her body's response to try and hold it all in. She can hear Brittany's tongue moving against her and she swears she's never heard anything sexier. Without warning, Santana's breathing stops, her head arching back as Brittany's lips suddenly close around her clit, sucking in a way that makes Santana come hard, her breath rushing out past straining lungs as she bucks against Brittany.

Santana knows that Brittany will spend the next few minutes easing her down, her mouth soft and tender as her hands smooth along the tops of Santana's thighs but the urge to make Brittany feel this good prompts Santana to pull Brittany up and into a sloppy kiss. They both groan into the kiss and as Santana tastes herself along Brittany's tongue, she braces her hands on Brittany's ribs, separating their bodies just enough so that she can slide her finger through Brittany's wetness. Santana pushes her head back into the mattress as Brittany breaks the kiss, gasping into the space between their open mouths as Santana runs the tip of her middle finger over and over Brittany's clit, sighing out as she feels it harden beneath her touch. Sweat builds wherever she and Brittany's bodies touch and Santana's center continues to pulse as Brittany's nipples slide across her own, the weight of Brittany's breasts against her increasing as Brittany arches her hips back. Holding the back of Brittany's head, Santana watches Brittany's face, willing her eyes to open so she can see the way the blue almost disappears when Brittany comes. Santana slips two fingers inside of Brittany and is rewarded by Brittany's eyes opening, her bottom lip caught between her teeth as Santana's palm continues to rub against Brittany's sensitive bundle of nerves. She recognizes the sounds falling from Brittany's lips and Santana feels her belly tighten as Brittany comes against her fingers, the rhythmic clenching making Santana almost come again.

The sudden urge to taste Brittany's wetness burns through Santana like a fever, her fingers stilling as she cups Brittany gently, giving her a moment before going to remove her fingers. Before she can move her hand, Brittany shakes her head, her panting breaths washing over Santana's overheated skin.

"Don't move," Brittany moans, holding herself above Santana. The sheets crumple in her hands as her body continues to tremble, her mouth brushing along the column of Santana's throat until she can rest her lips against Santana's ear. "I want to come again. Make me come again."

Gritting her teeth through a soft moan, Santana turns her head, meeting Brittany's mouth halfway in a deep kiss, their tongues sliding together in the same rhythm as Santana's fingers. Santana's other hand caresses Brittany's sweaty back in long strokes, using her nails to leave goosebumps all along Brittany's skin. The way Brittany's hips are moving, rising up until just the tips of Santana's fingers are inside of her before slowly sliding back down causes Santana's stomach to flutter, her own hips pushing off the bed in a desperate call and response.

Brittany knows her wetness is coating Santana's palm and she can feel the dampness of it on the inside of her thighs but she can't bring herself to care. Not when Santana pulls away from their kiss to bury her other hand in Brittany's hair, tugging Brittany's head back until she looks at Santana, her chest flushing warm at Santana's words. "Not like this."

Santana pushes her hand against Brittany's chest, sighing as she slips her fingers from between Brittany's legs. Santana can't control the smirk inching across her face when she hears Brittany moan loudly, the realization of what Santana wants to do finally hitting her.

Sliding further down on the bed, Santana repositions her body under Brittany, her arms coming up to curl over the tops of Brittany's thighs as her eyes close briefly, her senses overcome with the smell of Brittany's arousal. Turning her cheek, Santana sucks the soft skin of Brittany's thigh into her mouth, bending her knees to support Brittany as she arches back. Sucking hard enough to leave a mark, Santana looks up to find Brittany watching her, her brow furrowed and mouth parted. Raking her nails over Brittany's hips, Santana holds tight to Brittany's waist, inhaling a shaky breath as she holds eye contact. "Like this. Come for me like this."

Helpless to resist, Brittany braces her hands on the wall above Santana's head, groaning long and deep as she sinks down onto Santana's mouth. Brittany is swollen and sensitive and the muscles in her thighs jump as Santana swipes her tongue through Brittany's wetness. She can tell that Santana wants to close her eyes so she drops one hand to Santana's forehead, holding her gently in place for a moment as she begins to move her hips. "No. You wanted this. So now watch me."

The sound Santana makes from between Brittany's thighs almost makes Brittany come right then and there. Despite being held in place, Santana's tongue teases Brittany, the soft slickness causing Brittany to arch back once more, her knees pushing wider on the mattress as Santana's fingers tighten even further against her waist. Brittany knows it's not going to take much before she's coming again, especially not with the way Santana is looking at her and the way she's holding her tongue steady, allowing Brittany to rock her hips back and forth, using Santana's mouth for her pleasure. She can feel the way that Santana's body is moving restlessly beneath hers, Brittany's eyes slamming shut despite her request to Santana as she raises her head, sucking firmly on Brittany's clit.

Everything inside of Brittany starts to tighten, the tops of her toes pressing desperately into the bed as Santana starts to lick with purpose, her tongue stroking across Brittany's entrance and clit with singular focus. Despite her legs feeling like jelly, Brittany rises up slightly and reaches back, two fingers stroking through Santana's wetness without preamble until she can flick her fingertips against Santana's clit, determined to bring Santana over with her.

The feel of Brittany's fingers moving against her as Santana's head tipping back momentarily, a breathy moan falling from her lips as her eyes trace over Brittany's body above her. Spreading her legs wider, Santana arches her hips and holds Brittany's gaze, her tongue moving once again between Brittany's legs. Matching the pace of Brittany's fingers, Santana groans as a flood of wetness greets her tongue, her name a stuttered whisper falling from Brittany's lips as she comes for a second time, her thighs shaking as Santana continues to move her tongue. Even as Brittany fights through the pleasure of own orgasm, Santana can feel the purpose in her fingers as Brittany starts to fuck Santana, the sudden change pulling the orgasm from Santana's body in a rush of curse words, her head falling back against the mattress as she rests her open mouth against the inside of Brittany's thigh.

It takes a second or two for Brittany to move, her limbs weighted and sluggish, a breathless apology on her lips as her knee knocks against Santana's ribs before she settles her thigh between Santana's legs, letting her ride out her orgasm in soft undulations. Trading lazy kisses, Brittany cleans her wetness from Santana's chin, Santana's arms pulling Brittany closer as they share one more deep kiss before Brittany lets her head drop against Santana's chest, both of them exhaling loudly. A few moments pass before Santana lets out a soft laugh, causing Brittany to lift her head up just enough to look at Santana. "What?"

"I'm just really glad we don't have stuff to do for Stitch tonight. I couldn't move right now even if the ship was about to crash."

Stretching slowly against Santana's warm body, Brittany leans up further and kisses the corner of her mouth, settling comfortably once more against Santana before letting out a laugh of her own. Closing her eyes, Brittany curves her arm around Santana's waist, relaxing into the feel of Santana's hand running back and forth across her shoulders. "Me either. But, still, what a way to go."

* * *

"Santana, we're coming in on final approach. ETA 12 minutes."

"Copy that, Stitch. We're running through final checks now on our emergency gear. We'll be ready in the docking pod shortly." Switching her communications watch to mute, Santana reaches forward, zipping Brittany into her external survival suit and smoothing her hands across Brittany's shoulders out of habit. "Let's hope we don't have to use this gear. The last time I had to do an external exchange, I genuinely almost peed my pants."

Laughing lightly, Brittany captures Santana's hands and pulls her closer, tucking a loose strand of dark hair behind Santana's ear. "But I thought you loved space and the universe and everything in it."

"Oh, I do. But there's something about it being _in_ it with just a few inches of fabric between my body and a horrible death that really isn't appealing to me."

"Hmmm, I can't imagine why."

Rising up on her toes, Santana spares a few precious moments to place her lips against Brittany's, holding the soft kiss momentarily. Gently pulling her hands from Brittany's grasp, Santana ends the kiss with a smile, bending down to heft the bag containing their emergency gear onto her shoulder and pick up her computer bag with her other hand. "I love you, you know."

Brittany picks up a duffel bag containing her own tools and reaches into her pocket, pulling out and putting on her own communications watch. Syncing her watch to Santana's, Brittany lightly holds the back of Santana's head and places a kiss on her forehead, her voice soft as they hear footsteps approaching. "I love you too, sweetheart."

"Are you ladies all set?" Stitch joins them as they exit the prep area, the three of them walking the several feet to the docking pod.

Nodding her answer, Santana enters the docking pod first, moving aside to allow Brittany to get the pod ready to couple with the satellite docking station. Looking through one of the side windows, Santana types a few commands into the console beneath it before glancing back at Stitch. "The power appears to be out on the satellite but the readings are still coming through? Can that be right?"

"The satellite's main components run on separate systems so that doesn't surprise me. The previous crew could have shut the auxiliary power down, since they weren't going to be in there any longer, and kept the other systems running including the main computer and communications systems."

Humming in agreement, Santana logs off the docking pod's computer and stands back, letting Brittany complete her final check before she gives the captain a thumbs up. "Docking protocol is ready, Stitch. We're ready when you are."

With a playful salute, Stitch exits the pod, speaking with Alice as he heads to the cockpit. Stepping forward, Brittany pushes the button that locks them into the pod, ensuring their safety as their ship and the satellite prepare to dock. Handing Santana her helmet, Brittany dons her own helmet, both of them unable to stop the goofy grins as they look at each other through the clear helmet panel.

"I'll never get over how adorable you look in that helmet, Santana."

Rolling her eyes, Santana plays along, standing up straighter and looking at Brittany with a serious expression as she responds to her statement. "I am an Ark-Nine Logistics Engineer, First Class. Adorable is not in that job title."

Stepping closer to Santana, Brittany runs a fingertip across the emblem on Santana's suit, her grin even wider as Santana swats her hand away. "I don't know. The last word on your insignia looks an awful lot like 'cute' and who am I to deny Command and their titles?"

Santana wants to not look, but the emergency suits are new and she never actually really looked at it before she put it on. With a petulant stare, she looks down, pulling the suit away from her body and trying to read everything upside down.

Laughing, Brittany pulls Santana's hands away from her suit and holds onto them, ducking her head until Santana looks at her, waiting her out until she sees the corner of Santana's mouth start to lift. "I could kiss you right now."

"You guys are gross."

Both of them pause as Stitch's voice comes through loud and clear in their helmets, Brittany pursing her lips at Santana before letting go of her hands. Trying not to smile, Santana turns her head and looks over at the security screen across the docking pod, knowing that Stitch is no doubt watching them. "The comms are already on?"

"The comms are already on. So cute… but gross."

"Okay, okay. How about you do your job so we can do ours?"

Stitch hears the smile in Santana's voice and shifts his attention to the controls, working in tandem with Alice to guide his ship to slot up perfectly with the satellite's docking station. He listens as Brittany runs through the system check as the docking pod finally couples with the satellite, the lack of alerts across his screen letting him know that the coupling arms are fully connected. Pulling on a headset, Stitch toggles away from the docking screen, turning over controls to Brittany as he waits for her command to pull the ship back to hovering distance.

A few minutes later finds Brittany and Santana sealing the docking station door, watching briefly through the window as Stitch detaches the ship from the satellite and pulls away to begin his external monitoring of the satellite. Running a quick check to make sure that the life support systems can still engage, Santana remotely triggers the system to start, monitoring the oxygen levels until they are within normal limits. With a nod to Brittany, they make their way through the inner docking door and enter the satellite, removing and stowing their suits and emergency gear in the receiving room across from them.

"Can you," Brittany pauses as the lights flicker on, the hum of electricity comforting as the dark satellite is illuminated, "turn the lights on? Thanks, Santana."

With a smile in Brittany's direction, Santana walks forward and punches a few commands into the console next to the receiving room. Within a few seconds, a map of the satellite appears, overlaid with the schematics for the various systems. With Brittany looking over her shoulder, Santana traces her finger over a few of the rooms and hallways, tapping the room containing most of the hardware and instruments that Brittany will need to inspect. Removing her modified computer from her bag, Santana connects it to the console, sending the map and schematics to Brittany's watch before downloading the information to her computer. Santana finds the main cabin where she'll need to run a series of diagnostic checks and makes a note in her computer of the location. Before she can disconnect from the console, a burst of garbled interference sounds out through her computer, a dimmer echo of it coming from the helmets stowed next to them.

"What was that?"

Not answering Brittany, Santana opens a program on her computer to investigate the glitch, compiling readings from the console at the same time. When they both come back normal, she waits to see if the interference occurs again, tapping the communications line on her watch to speak to Stitch. "We had a brief moment of interference when I was pulling up the schematics. Did anything come through on your end?"

There's a brief pause before his voice comes through the line, Santana finally moving to disconnect her computer. "That's a negative, Santana. All readings appear the same as they were before we docked."

"Okay. Brittany and I are going to run through our checks and we'll follow up once we have any more information about what might be going on over here."

"Acknowledged."

Facing Brittany, Santana gestures over her shoulder towards the location of the main cabin before reaching out to briefly hold Brittany's hand. "I'm going to run through some more diagnostic checks on the mainframe and AI before I tap into the communications systems. Shouldn't take but 20 minutes or so before I'm done."

"I might need a little longer depending on the condition of the instruments if they're the ones causing the abnormal readings, but once you're done, meet me and we can head down to the cargo area together. I figure, if we clear this main deck then that would just leave the setup in the cargo area as the most likely place with the problem, don't you think?"

"That's a good a guess as any. Hopefully, one of us will find the culprit and we can get this bad boy repaired and be back in time for dinner."

Pulling on Santana's hand, Brittany brings her closer, smiling down at her as Santana runs her thumb across Brittany's knuckles. "Why don't we make a bet? Whoever can find the problem first and fix it gets to make the other person do whatever they want for 24 hours."

Recognizing the competitive glint in Brittany's eyes, Santana grins, pulling Brittany's hand up so she can kiss the back of it. "You're on. Victory will be mine."

Brittany lets go of Santana's hand and picks up her bag of tools, walking backward for a moment as she returns Santana's grin. "We'll see."

Watching as Brittany turns and continues across a small walkway before making a right and disappearing, Santana feels her grin slip from her face as she turns to head into the main cabin. Regardless of her playful bet with Brittany, Santana knows that each of their tasks are serious and that there are people counting on them to try and work out what went wrong with this satellite. A very expensive satellite, Santana thinks, and slips into full professional mode as she sits down in front of the main controls, connecting her modified computer once more to the satellite's systems. Preferring the holo screen to looking down at the console, Santana swipes her hand across her computer, leaning back in her chair slightly as her fingers fly across the keyboard, working through her checklist.

Santana settles into the rhythm of running diagnostics, calculating things in her head with ease and so far, all things seem normal. Pulling up a secondary program, she stops suddenly as she thinks she hears something outside the room, her screen blipping with strange symbols before continuing to scroll normally. Sparing a quick glance to make sure the sound wasn't Brittany coming back to collect on their bet, Santana scowls as she looks at the holo screen once more, perusing the information being pulled from the main console. She thinks she hears the noise again and chases away her sense of unease by leaning closer to the computer, the strange symbols starting to appear more frequently. Santana has the brief inclination to pause her scans and go find Brittany but something compels her to stay and continue to type away furiously on the keyboard as the symbols suddenly start to fill her screen.

* * *

"Like I'm going to going to lose _that_ kind of bet," Brittany scoffs to herself as she enters the equipment room, placing her tools on a low table situated near the bulk of the instrument panels. Reaching in for her main kit, she opens it on the table, pulling her favorite torque driver from its slot in the kit, the familiar feel of it in her hand bringing a smile to her face. "Those 24 hours are mine…"

Trailing off as she moves closer to the instrument panels, Brittany leans back and grabs her working light, opening the small tripod and angling the large beam of light at the panels as she places it on the table. Pulling a pair of gloves from the left cargo pocket on her pants, Brittany slips them over hands, taking a tentative step forward. " _What is that_?"

She can hear the tiny tremor in her voice as she whispers out loud and instinct has her glancing to the open doorway of the room, chiding herself for jumping at the long shadow being cast by her body. Turning back, Brittany takes a closer look at what appears to be a fine film of blue soot covering the fronts of the instrument panels, one gloved finger taking a tentative swipe over one of the panels. Running her thumb over her finger, Brittany can't tell the makeup of the substance but it feels oily against the material of the glove. Her curiosity gets the better of her and she brings her hand closer to her face, taking a shallow inhale to see if the film has any sort of odor. Her nose detects only the same smell as when she entered the room and she goes to reach into her bag for a clean towel, intent on wiping the film from the panel so she can get into it. The light on the table catches her glove and, to her dismay, the substance appears to be spread across her palm now even though she knows the only points of contact were her thumb and forefinger.

With a little more urgency she reaches for the towel only to have her hand miss her bag by a few inches. Shaking her head as her vision blurs briefly, Brittany goes to reach for the bag again but this time the table feels further away than before and her hand is left grabbing at air. A small jolt of panic has her stepping forward, her thigh banging into the table and dislodging the light from its perch. Confused as to how the table could now be close all of a sudden, Brittany makes the decision to leave the room and go find Santana, not trusting herself to check things out in the room when she's feeling this weird. Turning toward the direction of the door, Brittany barely bites back a scream as she sees the shadow of a man standing in the doorway, her hand bringing her torque driver up in reflex. Blinking rapidly, Brittany can't hold back a gasp as the doorway is clear once more, her foot nudging against the knocked over light next to the table. She lets out a shaky breath, putting her tool on the table and picking up the working light, chalking up the image of a man to the illusion created by the angle of the light at her feet. Still, instinctively, she knows she'll feel better if she gets to the main cabin and more importantly to Santana. Brittany places the light back onto the table and hurries out of the equipment room, dragging her hand along the wall in an attempt to remove the film from her glove. As she moves down the walkway, her distance from the equipment room seems to clear her head. With a deep breath, she stops by their emergency gear, removing her gloves carefully and sealing them inside one of the three safety containers located in the receiving room.

It only takes a few more minutes before she's at the main cabin and the relief at seeing Santana actually makes her feel weak. Seeing Santana working at the console has her feeling a little silly and she takes a deep breath to try and calm her racing heart, not wanting to give anything away in her voice. "Santana, how is it going in here?"

When Santana doesn't answer right away, Brittany walks closer to her, moving to the left so that she can see Santana's face. Her unease comes back in full force when she sees that while Santana's eyes are closed, her fingers are moving of their own accord across the keyboard. When she gets no response to saying Santana's name, Brittany opens the comms line on her watch, hailing Stitch.

"Go for Stitch."

"We have a problem. I think Santana and I need to come back now."

"What kind of problem? You guys haven't been there more than 20 minutes. What's wrong?"

Fear grips her heart as Santana seems unaware of Brittany's presence at her side and some of it filters into her voice as she answers the captain. "I'm not sure, but Santana and I need to get off this satellite right now. Can you bring the ship close to the docking station? I don't know that you'll have time to actually dock at the station so Santana and I will have to get our external emergency gear. Okay?"

"What's going on? Just tell me and maybe Alice and I can…"

"Stitch, please. I really think you need to come back. There's something off with Santana and I just… _please_."

"Jesus. Okay, Brittany. Okay. Alice and I are on our way."

The reassuring tone of Stitch's voice does nothing to quell the tremor in Brittany's belly and she reaches for Santana, shaking her shoulder gently and then with more force when Santana doesn't respond. "Santana? Santana. Look at me, sweetheart. Can you look at me now?"

Before Brittany can shake her again, Santana's eyes open and she turns her head, Brittany's hand falling away from Santana's shoulder. The brown eyes that Brittany spent years falling in love with are gone, an unnatural blue filling their space instead. Panic steals the breath from Brittany's lungs, a feeling that intensifies into fear as Santana starts to speak, the words in a language that Brittany can't understand. Without thinking about her decision, Brittany looks down and rips away the port connecting Santana's computer from the mainframe, grabbing it from Santana's hands and slamming it into the ground. She manages to catch Santana just as she slumps forward, tears falling from Brittany's eyes as she tries to see Santana's face. Before Brittany can move Santana's face toward her, Santana sits back suddenly on a loud inhale, her eyes opening to reveal the familiar brown that Brittany knows, Santana's confused gaze finding Brittany's a second later.

It takes a moment before Santana can focus on Brittany, her vision clearing enough to take in the utter fear etched into the lines of Brittany's face. Pushing her chair away from the mainframe, Santana has to clear her throat twice before she can speak. "Brittany? What the _fuck_."

The familiar expletive seems to calm Brittany down and she helps Santana stand up, swiping a hand across the tears on her cheeks before stomping down on the broken computer one more time just to be safe. "I have no idea, Santana, but we really need to go now."

"I think that's a good idea." Staring down at her shattered computer, Santana notices some kind of film around the edges of it and grabs Brittany's arm before she can turn to leave. "What happened?"

Urging Santana to move, Brittany meets Santana's eyes over her shoulder as she grabs her hand and pulls Santana toward the docking station. "I don't know. Something weird was happening with me in the equipment room and I came back to talk to you about it and when I got here, you were typing on your computer. But when I tried to get your attention, I saw that you were typing with your eyes closed. I pulled on your shoulder to shake you out of it and when you finally looked at me, your eyes were the weirdest shade of blue I've ever seen and you were speaking in some other language. It was seriously freaking me out."

Blinking rapidly, Santana shakes her head hard once, scrunching up her face as she glances back at her shattered computer. "And again, I say what the fuck."

"I don't know. But let's get the rest of our things and get out of here. I already told Stitch we were leaving, so he's getting the ship ready to receive us."

Agreeing, Santana grabs the empty bag on the chair behind her, holding it open as Brittany bends down to pick up any equipment that wasn't attached to the satellite's computer. Shoving the items in bag, Brittany spares a quick glance up Santana, a small part of her feeling bad about having to smash Santana's personal computer. "I'm sorry about your computer, Santana…Santana?"

The look on Santana's face has Brittany standing and slowly turning, her breath caught in her chest as she sees the same man from before standing across the room. Dropping the items in her hands, Brittany steps back until she's side by side with Santana, her voice just a whisper. "You see him, too?"

Santana doesn't answer Brittany, instead reaching down into the cargo pocket on her pant leg and pulling a pulse sidearm into view. Aiming it at the man in front of them, Santana hears Brittany's shocked gasp but doesn't take her eyes from the man, her thumb sliding the firing mechanism into place.

Brittany's harsh whisper barely registers as Santana's finger comes to rest on the trigger. "Why do you have a gun? Where did you get that?"

"The armory."

" _San_ tana..."

The exasperation in Brittany's voice would be funny in any another situation but with the man just watching them, Santana can only cut her gaze to Brittany's for a moment, her own voice tinged with exasperation. "Are you really going to question me about this right now?"

"Why isn't he moving?"

As they both look back at the man, Brittany realizes that his eyes are the same color blue that flooded Santana's eyes earlier and her panic increases, her heartbeat pounding in her ears. Knowing they have to get out of there, her stomach drops as she realizes where he's standing. Brittany turns her head, whispering to Santana as she watches the gun waver slightly in Santana's hand. "He's standing between us and the door to get our external gear, Santana. Docking might take too long and we can't get to the ship without that gear."

"Fuck." Using her other hand, Santana pushes the comms button on her watch, keeping her gun trained on the man who still hasn't moved. "Stitch, do you read me?"

"Yes. Brittany said there's a problem. Are you guys coming back now?"

"Not exactly."

"Not exactly?"

"Listen, we need you to dock directly with the docking station again. Our emergency external gear isn't available to us right now."

"What do you mean it's not available? It's going to take too long for the protocols and Brittany said that you both needed to leave the ship ASAP."

Shifting her grip on the sidearm, Santana takes a step back, looking quickly out the window to where she knows their ship is located. Speaking through gritted teeth, Santana puts her attention back on the man, moving forward to put herself between him and Brittany. "Stitch, get your goddamn ship here right now and get us out of here."

She can hear the irritation in his voice as he calls out commands to Alice, his grumbling over the comms feeling out of place for the tension in the room. "Okay, okay, fine. ETA 3 minutes and 40 seconds."

Brittany reaches over and rests her hand against Santana's lower back, drawing comfort from the contact as they both continue to watch the man watching them. "Why isn't he saying anything? Should _we_ say something?"

"He's close enough to hear us and besides, I think this pulse gun is saying plenty."

The next few minutes seem like they take an eternity to pass but Brittany and Santana finally feel the satellite jolt as Stitch connects their ship with it. The jolt is hard enough that it draws their attention to the window where they can see Stitch across the way in the cockpit, his hand up in apology for the rough coupling. Brittany's shocked gasp brings Santana's attention back towards the main cabin door and the gun almost slips from her fingers as she realizes that the man is gone. "Where the fuck did he go?"

"I don't know, but we need to get to the docking station."

Not trusting that any of her things might not be infected with the same film on her computer, Santana leaves the bag at her feet. Keeping the gun in front of her, both she and Brittany shuffle forward carefully as they exit the main cabin, keeping their backs towards the wall as Santana sweeps the gun along the corridor. "What? Did he just disappear?"

"That's what happened before, when I was in the equipment room before I came to get you. I looked up and thought I saw someone there but then I blinked and he was gone. I thought I was just seeing things."

Santana's pulse is racing with fear and she can feel sweat popping up along her forehead and along her back, her waistband heavy with it. "Well, now we're both seeing things so it's a perfect time to get off this fucking satellite pod. Okay, there's the door to the docking station."

Before they get to the threshold, Brittany tugs on Santana's sleeve, pointing at the walkway directly across from them. "He's not here. Maybe I should I grab my equipment?"

"What? No, leave it."

"But my best tools are in there."

Pulling Brittany towards the internal docking door, Santana shakes her head, holding onto Brittany's forearm and squeezing gently. "I'll buy you new ones. A whole set. Ten sets of tools. I promise."

Santana opens the first door as Brittany rushes through to the opposite docking door that connects their ship with the satellite pod but finds it locked. Punching the code into the door, Brittany frantically pulls on the lever, kicking the door in frustration as Santana reaches her side.

"What's wrong?"

"The door is locked."

Santana sees movement out of the corner of her eye through the docking window, Stitch moving quickly along his ship's control panel. Opening the comms line on her watch once more, Santana switches the gun in her hands, wiping her sweaty palm on her pants as she hears Stitch curse.

"Stitch, what's wrong?"

"Something is preventing Alice from unlocking the door."

Swallowing hard, Santana puts the gun back in her dominant hand, her other hand going back to make sure Brittany is behind her. "Tell her to override it."

"I'm _working_ on it."

They hear the frantic typing of keys as Stitch talks to Alice, the only other sound in the docking station the rushed breaths being pushed from Brittany and Santana's lungs. Without warning, two men now appear at the open internal door, their blue eyes even more vibrant in the shadows of the doorway. Instead of just staring at them this time, Brittany and Santana watch in horror as the men tilt their heads back, their mouths opening wide. They continue to watch as the same blue film that covered the instruments starts to run slowly out of the men's mouths and down their bodies, pooling before oozing along the floor.

Instinct has Santana firing at the two men, their bodies staggering back no more than a step or two as they absorb the energy from the pulse shots, the film continuing to flow unabated from their open mouths.

Stitch's frantic voice sounds shrill over the comms, the typing of keys halting briefly. "What the hell are you firing at?"

"I have no idea but if you don't get this door open so we can all get out of here, you're going to find out. And, trust me, you don't want to."

The typing resumes and Brittany grabs onto Santana's waist, pulling her back and closer to the door. "That stuff is coming right towards us!"

"What's coming toward you?"

Continuing to back up until Brittany is flush against her back and they are both pressed tight against the docking door, Santana watches the film continue to move across the floor until it's only a few feet away from them. Turning to the side window, Santana looks across to where Stitch is typing and looking at them through his window, Brittany's hands sliding to hold Santana closer to her. "We are about to get covered in some evil space alien ghost slime if you don't get this fucking door open right now. If that happens, I swear to God I will find you and haunt you. Get us out of here, Stitch."

Santana can see Stitch's eyes widen, his curses growing ever more inventive as he continues to work with Alice to override the locking mechanism.

"Santana!" Brittany can't help but call out Santana's name, trying desperately to pull them even closer against the door as the men begin to advance forward.

Knowing it's futile, Santana still pulls the trigger on her gun again and again, firing pulse after pulse into the men until her gun is empty. It grants her and Brittany only a few moments of respite as the men have to stop to absorb the shots. Unable to look away from them, Santana brings her watch close to her mouth, desperation coloring every word as she gives up and just throws the gun in their direction.

" _Stitch_."

"I know."

"Get these doors open."

" _I know_."

"Right fucking now!"

"Done. It's done! Locks are disengaged."

Brittany lets go of Santana and opens the door, stepping back and grabbing Santana's shirt, yanking her across the threshold. Both of them rush forward and slam the door shut, the sound of the locks engaging sounding out a half a second later.

Looking up at the security screen above the door, Brittany shouts at Stitch. "Undock and get out us of here right now!"

"But the undocking protocol..."

"Fuck the protocol. Disengage before they get into our ship."

"Better hold onto something then."

Reaching out, Brittany grabs onto one of the support bars near the door as Santana does the same, their bodies pulled away from the wall as Stitch undocks immediately from the satellite pod and accelerates in the opposite direction. The g-force is enough to steal their breath for one brief moment before Stitch eases off the thrusters, their feet connecting to the floor with a sharp thud as the pressure equalizes.

Santana lets go of the support bar and gratefully pulls Brittany into a hug, addressing Alice as she takes a few seconds to appreciate the feel of Brittany in her arms after their narrow escape. "Alice, run a diagnostic check on the hull. Make sure there's no unknown substance transferred to the ship."

" _Acknowledged, Santana. Running scans now_."

Easing back, Santana cradles Brittany's face, running her thumbs slowly across Brittany's cheeks. "Are you okay?"

"What the hell was all that?"

"I have no idea. Jesus. Was that the crew? Did they just send off their Rover, or did those things come on after?"

Pulling Santana into another hug, Brittany shakes her head, the adrenaline in her body making her shake against Santana. Brittany hears the soothing noises that Santana makes as she runs her hands across Brittany's back, Brittany's hands doing the same. "I'm so glad you're okay. When I saw you sitting at the console and you didn't respond to me, I didn't know…it was…"

"Shhhh, honey," Santana leans back and brushes her fingers once more over Brittany's cheeks. "We're okay now. We're safe."

They both look over as the docking pod doors open, Alice's voice alerting them to the all-clear. Pulling apart, they hear rushed footsteps and then Stitch is striding through the door, the concern on his face evident as he looks them both over. Relieved to find them in one piece, he scrubs his hands over his face before looking at Brittany and smiling. "Fuck the docking protocol, huh?"

Laughing as some of the tension eases from her shoulders, Brittany gives in to impulse and hugs Stitch, moving aside as Santana claps him on the shoulder in gratitude, never pausing as she rushes from the docking pod. Brittany and Stitch look at each other before following quickly behind her.

"Santana, what are you doing?"

Ignoring Stitch's question, Santana sits down in the captain's chair, her fingers moving across the command keyboard as she activates the weapons' system. Brittany's hand lands on her shoulder as Stitch leans over the console to look at Santana, his question repeated in a more pointed tone. "What are you doing?"

"I'm blowing the satellite up."

"You're what? The hell you are." Stitch issues an override command to Alice and the keyboard dies in Santana's hand, her sound of frustration doing little to deter the captain from pulling the keyboard closer to him. "That is a multi-billion dollar satellite pod. I don't know what kind of savings you have, but I'm pretty sure you can't pay Command back for destroying this thing. We don't even know what happened on the pod, mostly because you haven't _told_ me what happened. Plus, it still has half its payload in storage. That's at least an additional several million dollars' worth of investment you're about to turn into stardust."

"I don't care."

"You don't…"

"Listen to me. Whatever is on that ship, whatever took it over, whatever is sending out those readings is not right. Everything felt off and I'm pretty sure that everything in there, including the payload, is compromised."

"But blowing it up? We can inform Command about what we found and they can send a team out here to evaluate what's in that satellite pod."

Shaking her head, Brittany points to the satellite through the cockpit window, her body language clearly siding with Santana. "Stitch, Santana was firing at two men. And you didn't see those men - if they were even men, I mean. The stuff that's coating the inside of that satellite? I'm pretty sure it was the same stuff that started coming out of their mouths and towards us. That film, it messed with Santana and me. There was something evil about it. That's the only way I can think to describe it."

Snorting out a laugh, Stitch's face turns serious again at the look on Brittany and Santana's faces. "Evil? I mean, come on. Maybe one of the minerals the crew picked up deteriorated and, I don't know, caused you both to hallucinate."

Santana rises slowly and takes a step closer to the captain, her expression serious as she responds to his assertion, her words measured and deliberate. "Stitch, what we experienced was not a compromised payload. It wasn't a shared hallucination. There is something dark that's onboard that satellite pod. Maybe it came in with one of the hauls, I'll grant you that. But whatever is there now is not human and definitely not safe."

"I just think…"

Pulling the keyboard back from Stitch, Santana sits in the captain's chair again, ignoring the weapons system and instead asking Alice to access navigation. "Tell you what. We'll go dock again and _you_ can board and maybe you can talk to the nice vomiting ghost men and ask them how their day is going and invite them over for tea, since you think it's all just in our heads."

After a long pause, Stitch sits in the copilot seat and releases the weapons override, engaging the shield system as he jerks his chin at the keyboard in Santana's hand. "Well, when you put it that way…"

Brittany moves to stand between the two of them, her fingers tightening against Santana's shoulder in support. "We'll put everything in our report, all of it. Including what we're about to do now and if we have to answer for it, we will. But at least we'll know that whatever is on that ship is destroyed and that has to count for something."

Typing in the last few commands, Stitch watches Santana do the same, the three of them looking through the cockpit window as Alice confirms their request.

" _Deflector shields at maximum, debris containment protocol initiated. Pulse cannons 2, 5, and 7 are charged and ready to fire on your command, Captain_."

"Fire!"

The engine thrusters rumble to life beneath their feet as the ship moves away from its target, half a second passing before the satellite pod explodes in a flash of bright blue light for just a moment before darkness fills the area once more. The debris field pushes out toward the ship and Brittany watches as short bursts of light are fired from their ship, eliminating the closest threats.

Alice's voice cuts through the silence in the cockpit, the debris field eventually becoming barely a speck among the stars. " _Target confirmed eliminated, Captain_."

Leaning back in his seat, Stitch lets out a long sigh and runs his fingers over his hair, looking over at Santana. "I know we just, like, saved the universe or some shit, but I feel a little sick. We basically just blew up a shit ton of money."

Standing up, Santana pats him on the back, raising her arms above her head to release the tension in her shoulders. "Yeah, but just think of the story you'll be able to tell next time you're on Helios-12."

"It's sweet how you think I'm allowed back there."

Santana feels Brittany's hand rubbing along her back, her body leaning closer to the soothing touch. Listening as Alice disengages the shields, Santana shifts to leave the cockpit. "You know, now that we've eliminated the danger, we need to warn Command about this sector and see if they can send the Praxus unit out here to follow up. Those guys live for this stuff. Besides, they're better equipped to deal with anomalies like this. We should have Alice compile her readings to include in our report, too. Oh, and Brittany and I will also have to make a list of lost inventory."

"My tools..."

With Stitch's back to them, Santana leans up and kisses Brittany's cheek softly, her eyes drawn to Brittany's pout. "I know, sweetheart. I'm bummed about my computer unit, too."

Falling into step next to Santana, Brittany's pout turns into a smile as she remembers Santana's words. "Are you really going to buy me ten sets of tools? Because while I appreciate the offer, I don't know how I can use all of them at once."

Rolling her eyes at Brittany's grin, Santana bumps her shoulder against Brittany's, turning to speak to the captain. "We're going to wash up and probably burn everything we're wearing. Why don't we meet in a half hour and debrief before we contact Command?"

Swiveling around in his chair, Stitch scratches the back of his neck, his tone curious as he looks back and forth between Brittany and Santana. "Sure. But, what do you think _really_ happened? That satellite pod was fine and the crew that left was apparently fine just a few weeks ago."

"I don't know. Maybe they did bring something back on board with them. The crew would have seen the same readings Delta received. It could have intrigued them enough that they went after it."

"Or maybe those things changed the readings to get people out here so they could make more of them."

Brittany's interjection causes both Stitch and Santana to shudder, all three of them sharing a look before Santana speaks. "Okay, that's a creepy fucking thought."

"You know, I think I like being on the Lunar Base much more. Maybe adventure is overrated."

Laughing, Brittany and Santana go to leave before Stitch calls out to stop them. "One last thing, what was it like in there? With those things?"

Exchanging a look with Santana, Brittany scrunches up her face, searching for a way to answer the captain's question. "Other than terrifying? I don't know. It was like..."

"Like a ghost ship."

Turning his chair back to the console, Stitch nods his head a few times at Santana's answer, calling out over his shoulder as they start to leave the room, "You know, there was an old movie about that once."

Letting out a long breath, Stitch rests his palms across the command console, tapping his fingers twice before lifting his head. "Alice, set a course for home."


End file.
